Beyond the land of HOA's

I'm a third generation Las Vegan. My parents met each other at Las Vegas High School (Wildcats). Back in the 60's and 70's if you got three hundred meters outside of the Strip, Vegas was really just a strange kind of cowboy town. There were lots of ranch-style houses, dusty mobile homes and cynderblock castles.

Sure there were the European and East Coast style mansions in Rancho Circle and Scotch-80's. But these were owned by casino executives from Chicago and Detroit. Everywhere else Las Vegas looked a lot like Tucson, St. George or Phoenix.

Then in the mid-80's the Snowbirds moved in. These were retirees from northern states who wanted to escape the cold, the gloom and the children. They nested in great gated communities, with Wackenhut guard stations and expansive golf courses. Their kingdoms ruled by HOA committees. Snowbirds represented the slow death of Las Vegas.

 Now all you see is cookie-cutter houses that all look the same with the same plants and the same colors, but if you look hard enough in the backwoods of Vegas you can still spot some of the unique characters that still inhabit this town.

Another rock pile idol

Saguaro cactus made from telephone poles

A flying trapeze in someone's backyard.

Trivia- In the song "Mickey" by Tony Basil, the cheerleader uniform she is wearing is from  Las Vegas High School. She attended LVHS and was a cheerleader.

2010-2011 Copyright Cram, Kmuzu - No reproduction or publication or modification without my written consent. If you want to use any of the picture just send me an email, I'm pretty accommodating.

Little Gods of Vegas

Before I was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) I used to see ghosts. In the corner of my vision, shadow figures of men and animals - darting from the closet to the door or the from bottom of the window flowing down the wall and under the bed.

Man with Hat

The most common was the shape of a large man with meatloaf shoulders and a square hat. He would sit behind me to my right wavering in out an out.

Of course when I turned to gaze upon the creature it would vanish. So illusive these spirit beings are.

Then there were the elementals - flashes of light, orbs streaming across the ceiling, black spots - holes in the universe.

And the noises .. knocking and pinging and ringing.

For a long time I ignored that there was something really wrong with my brain. I was scared it was cancer .. I don't fear dying, but I do fear suffering.

My brain still short circuits from time to time. Like a computer with a loose wire or two. Little glitches .. here and there. My old friend with the hat and the ragged woman who perches in the corner .. The black bird by the window arrive in  my back-stepping vision now and then.

I take photographs .. because things still catch in my brain like a leaf stuck on the side of the gutter as the rainwater rushes past. I thought capturing it as a picture would help. It does sometimes.

Lately, I've noticed Little Gods along the side of the road .. in the deserted lots with old "For Sale" signs. Little Gods .. some taller than others .. mostly stacked stones but some with pieces of wood or plastic on top.

And not in just one spot, but for miles down the road. Little Gods here and there .. So I took some pictures of these immortal beings .. I don't know who stacks these stones or exactly why. I think they're guardians, either to keep the demons out or perhaps to keep the demons in.